Marcos Ambrose, one of the good-natured drivers on the NASCAR circuit who, since 2007, has come close to winning each of the three times he competed at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge, confirmed today his return for the 2010 running of the event on August 28-29 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Ambrose is not returning to Montreal this summer because he is chasing the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide title, but because he wants to win on the Parc Jean-Drapeau track layout. "I will come to Montreal. . . as often as it takes for me to win here," Ambrose said when he confirmed his return to the city banked by the majestic St. Lawrence River.

Weekly NASCAR cheaters reportPart-time Nationwide Series driver Peyton Sellers was docked 50 points while his crew chief, Paul Richmond, was fined $10,000 and suspended for four races after NASCAR officials discovered unapproved fuel in his car following qualifying last Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Sellers had his qualifying time disallowed and because he did not have a guaranteed position, did not compete in the race.

The Sellers family-owned team also was docked 25 points in the owner points.

“A small amount of fuel that we used to fire up our car in the shop was accidentally brought to the track and was used to top off the car,” Sellers said in a statement. “We are a new team and are trying hard to make it in the Nationwide Series with a volunteer crew. We know mistakes like this cannot be made if we are going to be successful in one of NASCAR’s top series of racing. We have learned a very important and costly lesson but we are going to continue moving forward with my lifelong goal of competing in NASCAR.”

Kansas Speedway petitions for 2nd race in 2011International Speedway Corp. (ISC) formally petitioned NASCAR on Thursday to give their Kansas City track a second Sprint Cup race as early as 2011, and since the France family controls both NASCAR and ISC (we call that a monopoly) you can bet their request will be granted.

ISC spokesman Lenny Santiago said he expects an answer later this summer, before NASCAR unveils next year's schedule. Santiago declined to talk about details of the petition, which includes a potential date and likely eliminates a race at another ISC track.

"We're hopeful," Santiago said at Daytona International Speedway. "We've been working with NASCAR and recently made our formal request to them. We're not discussing the details of where the date may come from or anything like that, but we have made the request and we'll wait for their decision."

Toyota to issue yet another recallToyota Motor Corp. plans to issue a new recall of about 270,000 cars worldwide with potentially faulty engines -- the latest in a string of quality issues to ensnare the Japanese automaker.

Japan's daily Yomiuri reported that Toyota will notify the Japanese government's transport ministry of a recall on Monday.

In Washington, Toyota hasn't formally notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of a recall, but officials expect the automaker will take action on Tuesday. Under U.S. law, an automaker has five days to recall a vehicle after discovering a safety defect.

Chevy expands Volt releaseChevrolet is adding Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to the launch markets for the Volt, Ed Whitacre, General Motors chairman and CEO, announced today. Whitacre said the company is expanding the initial launch of the groundbreaking electric vehicle in response to intense interest in the Volt from customers across the country.

Today’s announcement brings the initial Volt retail markets to seven, including California, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. The retail launch in Texas and New York will begin with Austin and New York City in late 2010. The balance of Texas and New York, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut, are scheduled to begin receiving Volts in early 2011.

"We can add markets as diverse as Texas and New York because the Chevrolet Volt can handle both urban commuting and longer trips, in Austin summers and Manhattan winters,” Whitacre said. “The Volt can be your primary vehicle, giving you the freedom to drive gas-free without the stress of planning every trip around the battery’s charge level.”

The Volt is the only electric vehicle that can operate under a full range of climates and driving conditions without limitations or driver concern of being stranded by a depleted battery.

"Chevrolet is extending the Volt launch to additional states because of strong customer interest and our confidence in all aspects of the vehicle and battery," said Tony DiSalle, Chevrolet Volt marketing director.

The Chevrolet Volt is capable of about 340 miles total driving range, with electricity driving the car at all times. For trips as long as 40 miles, the Volt gets its power solely from electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, an engine-generator seamlessly engages to extend the driving range to about 300 miles on a full tank of gas.

According to a U.S. Department of Transportation survey, the average driver in America commutes less than 40 miles per day, meaning Chevrolet Volt owners may never use gasoline or produce tailpipe emissions in everyday driving.

A portable 120-volt vehicle charge cord that can recharge the Volt using a standard residential outlet comes standard with every car. Volt’s intelligent charging technology enables the Volt to be charged from a standard 120-volt outlet in about nine to 10 hours, or from a standard 240-volt outlet in about three to four hours. The first buyers of the Volt also may be eligible for one of 4,400 free 240-volt home charging stations from ECOtality, Inc. or Coulomb Technologies, under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Whitacre also announced that Chevrolet will add five Texas electric utilities and five Northeast utilities to a Department of Energy development and demonstration program that provides Volts and charging stations to key utilities. The program allows the utilities to study charging station installation process, vehicle charging, and customer feedback. The Texas utilities include: Austin Energy, CenterPoint Energy, CPS Energy, Oncor, and American Electric Power. In the Northeast, Chevrolet is partnering with Con Edison, New York Power Authority, Northeast Utilities, National Grid, and Public Service Electric and Gas.

AFS steps up to support CarrollAndretti Autosport has announced that its Indy Lights partner AFS Racing will step up to IndyCar to become a co-entrant for Adam Carroll's program.

Team owner Gary Peterson expects the deal to develop into a full-time IndyCar presence for AFS.

"This is a good step for AFS Racing and we're looking forward to working directly with a great, young talent like Adam Carroll," said Peterson. "He tested well at Mid-Ohio this week and we're excited to work with him at these two events.

Renault pushes for equalizationRed Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has made a fresh plea to try and get engine performance equalized for next season, with his team now set to remain with Renault for 2011.

Horner has made no secret of the fact that he believes the Renault is down on power compared to the benchmark Mercedes-Benz – even though his unit may have advantages in terms of weight, drivability and fuel consumption.

A push last season to make all engines equal did not result in any action being taken, and Horner is now eager for the matter to be looked at again - especially as he believes the importance of power will become more important as rival outfits close in on the chassis advantage that Red Bull currently enjoys.

Chrysler sales jump 35% tooChrysler said today that U.S. sales jumped 35% compared with the same month a year ago, a gain led by its Jeep and Dodge brands.

Jeep sales rose 25%, on an 86% jump Jeep Wrangler sales. Dodge, newly-minted as a car brand, saw its sales increase 67% on a spike in sales of the Charger, Avenger and Challenger. Overall, sales of Chrysler’s passenger cars, an area where industry observers say Chrysler must improve, nearly doubled.

Chrysler’s minivans also performed well. Sales of the Chrysler Town & Country rose 34% and sales of the Dodge Caravan jumped nearly 50%.

Mustang Debut in NASCAR this weekendThe Ford Mustang that will christen a new era in NASCAR isn't a carbon copy of the 1973 coupe that captured Brad Barnett's imagination.

But despite not being a NASCAR fan, Barnett will be watching intently when the car takes the green flag Friday at Daytona International Speedway. For the Birmingham, Ala., native who fell in love with the Mustang at age 3 and has attended shows since he was 6, the Fourth of July weekend is a fitting debut for a car that "represents the American dream."

"The freedom of driving fast, putting the top down and looking at a long stretch of open road," says Barnett, 31, who founded TheMustangSource.com, an online community for more than 20,000 enthusiasts of Ford's most famous car. "The Mustang embodies that. It's more than a car; it's a symbol of Americana."

Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac Sales Increase 36 Percent in JuneJune sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac increased by a combined 36 percent to 194,828 units in the United States. This is the sixth straight month in which sales for GM's brands increased year-over-year by more than 20 percent. Year-to-date sales for the four brands also have risen 32 percent to 1,069,577 units - an increase of 258,368 units compared to last year.

There is a familiar saying in motorsports – and it certainly holds true in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n – that races are won in the pits. Today, we learn how true Corvette Racing believes that to be.

Doug Fehan, the team’s ever-popular program manager, give us a tour of Corvette’s command center in pitlane where strategy, data acquisition, analysis, engineering and race observation take place. You can see it next at the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix next week at Miller Motorsports Park just outside Salt Lake City.

The two-hour, 45-minute race is set for 2:35 p.m. MT on Sunday, July 11 from Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. SPEED will air the race live at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook page and the official YouTube channel.

Rising American junior formula car racer Gabby Chaves will get the chance to race on one of the premier tracks in Europe this weekend (July 3-4), when Rounds Five and Six of the Italian Formula 3 Championship take place at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. The Euroninternational racer enters the doubleheader not only as one the leading rookie drivers in the highly-competitive series, but also as a true contender for top honors, given his pace in the early stages of the 2010 season.

For the Chaves to goal entering the third event on the 16-race Italia F3 calendar will be to convert his great pace into quality results. The reigning Formula BMW Americas champion has consistently showed he has the skill and speed - as evidence by his recent pole position in Germany – to battle for race wins in his inaugural season of Formula Three competition. However, some poor luck – primarily via contact from other racers – has prevented Chaves from securing the results desired and deserved.

List of NASCAR drug abusers to dateNASCAR has indefinitely suspended no less than 19 crew members and drivers for violating the substance abuse policy. Here are the names and teams, in no particular order:

Massa backs safety car talksFelipe Massa has agreed that discussions surrounding the use of the Safety Car are necessary following the controversy of last weekend’s European Grand Prix. Although Ferrari was affected by a sheer lack of luck, the Scuderia is still angry over what they believe was a light drive-through penalty for Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton’s McLaren could be seen narrowly overtaking the Safety Car as it was deployed, with both Ferraris having to sit behind and therefore lose positions due to already being past the pit entrance whereas rivals were able to dive in straight away.

No Swiss road ban for Hamilton(GMM) Lewis Hamilton will not be banned from Swiss roads. Swiss road crash victims foundation RoadCross, backed by local politicians, called for the ban after Hamilton's girlfriend recently admitted in a celebrity magazine interview to sometimes driving with her knees.

Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger also joked that the pair would be banned if it emerged how fast they had driven in Switzerland, where Hamilton rents an apartment.

RoadCross asked the local attorney general to revoke Hamilton's driving license, also because the McLaren driver - arrested in March for dangerous driving in Melbourne - crashed in Switzerland after running a stop sign last year. But German-language reports reveal that Geneva authorities have closed the case against the 2008 world champion due to a lack of evidence.

Sport suing beverage maker for 'F1 Racing' drink(GMM) Formula one has sued a Singapore drinks maker for selling a beverage called 'F1 Racing Energy Drink'. In the Singapore High Court, Formula One Licensing BV is asking for damages and an order for the drinks to be destroyed against Speed Drinks Pte, according to Bloomberg and the Straits Times. A hearing was held on Wednesday.

Speed Drinks, with an 'F1' logo registered in Holland and elsewhere, argued that the sport is wrongly claiming control of a generic term. Formula one argued that the drink has caused "irreparable damage" to its brand, and its future efforts to license official F1 drinks.

In 2006, the sport successfully stopped Chinese fashion companies from selling clothes with 'F1 Jeans' branding, but a year later failed to win exclusive rights to the 'F1' abbreviation by the UK Trademark Registry.

Total test ban a mistake says HRT's Willis(GMM) Geoff Willis believes formula one made a "mistake" in completely banning in-season track testing. The ban was imposed to cut costs, theoretically benefitting the smallest teams like HRT, where Briton Willis is the technical consultant.

But he argues that the complete absence of testing means money is instead spent on expensive simulation technology.

"The mistake, for me, is that while it was sensible to stop unrestricted testing, a better balance would have been to have certain fixed testing times common to all teams and wrap up a commercial operation around it," he said.

Maranello based Ferrari has argued loudly that the credibility of the sport is at risk after Lewis Hamilton overtook the safety car in Valencia but still managed to finish the race on the podium.

The Italian team is also critical that penalties against 9 drivers for speeding during the safety car period did not promote Fernando Alonso higher than just eighth place.

"The success of a sport is measured by its ability to be credible and above all understandable to the general public," said CSAI (Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana) president Angelo Sticchi Damiani in an Italian-language statement.

Andersen Racing, one of the premier open-wheel develop teams in North America, is pleased to announce that it will field a car for one of its Star Mazda drivers, Anders Krohn of Stavanger, Norway and Houston, Texas, in the Corning 100 Firestone Indy Lights race that will be held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y. on Sunday. The 29-lap race on the famous 3.37-mile, 11-turn road course precedes the Camping World Grand Prix IZOD IndyCar Series race later that afternoon.

Krohn will be the first driver to compete in all three formula car classes in which the Palmetto, Fla.-based team is involved: Formula 2000, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Firestone Indy Lights.

It’s safe to say that Patrick Long has learned to love Miller Motorsports Park. While initially unsure about the palatial venue just outside Salt Lake City, his performances there in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n have made MMP one of his favorites.

Long and teammate Jörg Bergmeister will look for a GT2 repeat victory in the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix with their Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The circuit has been good to the duo – Bergmeister is on a three-race win streak at the track and was the fastest GT2 qualifier last year. Long set the fastest GT2 race lap in 2009 and – like his teammate – has never finished off the podium including a runner-up LMP2 finish in 2008.

TNT revs up NASCAR coverageTNT’s groundbreaking Wide Open television format will return for the fourth consecutive year during the network’s exclusive coverage of the primetime Coke Zero 400 at Daytona powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 3rd. The format provides continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and features more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast by using a letterbox widescreen format. In place of the national ads, the telecast features a variety of animated sponsor messages, unique branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. Wide Open Coverage debuted on TNT during the 2007 Daytona 400 race and has resulted in only nine missed laps of green flag racing in three years, and zero for last year’s race.

Vettel's confidence appeared to have taken a big hit following his much-publicized accident with team-mate Mark Webber in Turkey.

However, he returned to winning ways in Valencia and claimed not only the race victory but also the pole position - much to Horner's delighted.

"This is a very important victory for Sebastian and the team," Horner is quoted in France's L'Équipe. "We did not expect to be as efficient on this track, which was more favorable to McLaren and Mercedes.

Ford announces debt reduction planFord said today it plans to reduce its debt by more than $4 billion by paying off $3.8 billion in obligations to a UAW trust fund in cash and by paying off $255 million of other debts.

Ford’s payments go far beyond the $860 million it was required to pay the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust today. Ford had an option to pay up to $610 million in stock but said Wednesday that it would use cash for the entire payment.

The trust fund was established as the result of labor contract talks with the UAW in 2007 and began managing the health care benefits for hourly retirees in January.

NASCAR Sprint Cup, GRAND-AM Rolex Series Races Included In One TicketRace fans can enjoy two great motorsports events for the price of one ticket Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. The price of admission to the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event also includes the Brumos Porsche 250 GRAND-AM Rolex Series race.

The Brumos Porsche 250 - the historic 100th race for the Daytona Prototypes - takes the green flag at 11:15 a.m. Saturday morning. Entry to the Rolex Series paddock in the circuit infield is free to ticket holders.

Roush Fenway Excited About Mustang NASCAR Debut at DaytonaThis weekend the Ford Mustang will make its NASCAR racing debut at the “World Center of Racing” -- Daytona International Speedway.

Roush Fenway will play a proud part in the muscle car’s debut into the series, fielding four drivers who will look for the honor of being the first to take the ‘iconic’ car to victory lane.

“It would be really cool to win that first race at Daytona with the Mustang,” said Roush Fenway’s Carl Edwards. “I have a Mustang that I drive on the road. I like driving the Mustang, people relate to the Mustang and they enjoy it. I’ve had more people excited about that car than any of the other changes we’ve done with the bodies or the spoilers or the wings. People are pumped about seeing Mustangs race.

IRL to announce new chassis on July 14thThe IRL announced today that July 14th has been set as the date the IZOD IndyCar Series will announce details regarding its future car strategy.

The IZOD IndyCar Series formed the ICONIC Advisory Committee, featuring various industry experts and representatives, to aid in its search for its future car. The committee has been tasked with reviewing, researching and making a recommendation on the next generation of IZOD IndyCar Series engine and chassis. The ICONIC Advisory Committee includes Brian Barnhart, Tony Cotman, Gil de Ferran, Eddie Gossage, Rick Long, Tony Purnell and Neil Ressler. Retired Air Force Gen. William R. Looney III is the moderator.

Red Bull building new chassis for Webber(GMM) Red Bull Racing is building up a new chassis for Mark Webber after his backflip crash during last Sunday's European grand prix.

The Australian emerged unhurt from the frightening impact, which included a backwards somersault, a smash against an advertising hoarding whilst airborne, and a high speed final shunt into the tire barrier.

The actual chassis was the one driven by Webber, 33, to a handful of pole positions and his wins in Barcelona and Monaco.

AutoRacing1.com (AR1), owned by AutoRacing1, Inc., a New Jersey based corporation, is happy to announce that we now have a correspondent, Scott Morris, stationed in Indianapolis to focus on the IRL and its teams stationed there. We also are happy to announce that we have Pete McCole stationed in Charlotte to focus on NASCAR and the teams stationed there.

Sauber impressed with KobayashiUPDATE (GMM) Sunday at Valencia finally vindicated his decision to sign rookie Kamui Kobayashi, according to team boss Peter Sauber. The Japanese impressed with his feisty debut drives at the end of last year, when Toyota was on the way out of formula one and Timo Glock was recovering from injury.

Peter Sauber

On the strength of those brilliant flashes, Sauber signed the 23-year-old to complement the veteran Pedro de la Rosa for 2010; the Swiss team's first season in the wake of BMW's departure as owner.

Kobayashi's Valencia weekend did not get off to a great start when he was out-qualified by de la Rosa, but his name featured prominently throughout the race.

He leapt towards the front because he started on the harder tires and didn't pit with the bulk of the field, but when he was running prominently his lap times were fully competitive and he comfortably held off the reigning world champion Jenson Button.

He made his mandatory pitstop with only four laps to run, famously overtaking first Fernando Alonso and then Sebastien Buemi within sight of the checkered flag.

Hot Wheels teams with TaglianiHot Wheels® and the FAZZT Race Team are excited to announce a partnership that is sure to race straight to the hearts of IndyCar fans across Canada. This July, at the Honda Indy Toronto and Honda Indy Edmonton, FAZZT Race Team driver and the only Canadian scheduled to race in all IndyCar races this year, Alex Tagliani, will be racing in a brand new Honda IndyCar, customized in Hot Wheels® style. The car will be unveiled for the first time at the Honda IndyFest on July 14th at Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto.

FOTA expecting 12 percent emissions cut by 2012The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) announced on Wednesday morning that it is launching a brand-new ‘comprehensive’ program to help reduce carbon emissions in the sport. The start of the scheme comes following examination from environmental research analysis organization Trucost.

As confirmed on Wednesday, Trucost has spent several months ‘researching the full range of activities performed by and within Formula 1 teams and their suppliers’ and has informed FOTA that changes will allow less carbon emissions to be produced in the future, whether it be during the testing or racing of F1 cars.

Lotus Racing Opens The Factory DoorsLotus Racing has today announced that it is throwing open the doors of its factory in Hingham, UK, for fans to take an exclusive look behind the scenes of the inner workings of the fastest new team in the Formula One™ World Championship. Paying guests now have the chance to take a tour of the team’s Norfolk home in 1½ hour tours, where they will see each of the key areas of the factory, including the Design Office, Composite and Machine Shops, Race Bays and the Race Team workshops – everything needed to build and run a modern F1™ team. In addition, guests will also have the opportunity to see the T127 race car up close and meet the people who make it all happen.

Contrite Alonso backs down on 'manipulation' claim(GMM) Fernando Alonso says he is no longer angry after reacting furiously to the outcome of Sunday's European grand prix.

Insiders suggested the Ferrari driver had risked sanctions for questioning the actions of the FIA stewards in applying a drive-through penalty long after Lewis Hamilton overtook the safety car in Valencia.

"On Sunday evening, I was very angry about everything that happened, but now that anger has been transformed into positive energy driving a desire to fight back," he wrote in a diary entry posted on the team's official website.

His calmer comments are being viewed by some headline writers as an 'apology' to the FIA.

Writing in a Telegraph blog, correspondent Tom Cary said it might be the result of a "behind-closed-doors deal with the FIA in return for the governing body taking no action" against Alonso and the equally angry Italian team.

Alonso, 28, continued: "I reacted emotionally and in that situation, it is all too easy to adopt a tone and say things that can be interpreted wrongly, giving rise to suspicions, something which I had no intention of doing.

"Sure, I understand that the stewards have a difficult job to do and they have to take decisions that are not easy.

"What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty," said the Spaniard.

He also played down suggestions the affair is a re-opening of his personal war with former McLaren teammate Hamilton.

Webber was worried about hitting a bridgeMark Webber said that his biggest fear immediately after his Red Bull took off in the European Grand Prix was hitting something whilst airborne.

Webber was launched into a spectacular somersault when his Red Bull clipped the rear wheel of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus in an attempt to pass the slower car. Luckily, the Australian's car flipped upside down momentarily before righting itself and ending up in the safety barriers. He then walked away unscathed.

"I was worried about bridges or things that I could hit up in the air," said Webber, who escaped with minor bruising. "I knew I was involved in a huge crash, and that I was just a passenger.

The Mercedes W01 has shown some hint of speed from time-to-time but never when it counts

Mercedes’ drivers believe they can still win races this season if the team manages to resolve the tire problems which are currently compromising the W01's performance over race weekends.

The Brackley-based team looks increasingly likely to surrender the world titles it won last year under the Brawn name at the end of the season having been unable to get amongst the fight at the front with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Despite introducing a big update for last week’s European Grand Prix – including a blown diffuser and a further improved F-duct system – Mercedes slumped to its worst performance of the season as it missed Q3 altogether and then scored a single point in the race only after other cars ahead received time penalties.

Kelley Earnhardt named bank chairmanMooresville-based Blueharbor Bank said today that a member of one of racing’s first families, Kelley Earnhardt, has been elected chairman of the board.

Earnhardt, whose late father was NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. and whose brother is current driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., was a founding board member of the community bank that opened in 2007. She is general manager and co-owner of JR Motorsports in Mooresville and serves as a director of the Dale Jr. Foundation.

Earnhardt moved from the vice chairman role as part of a planned rotation, the bank said. Attorney Bill Pope is the new vice chairman.

“Kelley’s leadership and business acumen is being recognized deservedly so by our fellow board members and I look forward to working with her in this leadership capacity,” said Blueharbor chief executive Jim Marshall in a statement.

New Aero Kit For BMWsBMW’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans delivered mixed results, but the Bavarian automaker has taken some of the lessons learned from the development of its European-spec M3 GT2s to strengthen its American Le Mans Series program.

While the revised cars, which fully conform to ACO regulations, won’t be seen in the hands of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team this year, the Ohio-based team is evaluating the use of the M3’s new bodywork package that was seen on the Schnitzer-run cars in the early season Le Mans Series races and at Le Mans.

NASCAR, IndyCar Championship Tix On SaleHomestead-Miami Speedway is doing it again in 2010: The only venue ever to host all of North America’s premier motorsports’ Championship finales, THE Championship Track will be the site of IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Weekend (Oct. 1-2) and NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend (Nov. 19-21). Tickets for both go on sale THIS Saturday, July 3, via (866) 409-RACE or THEChampionshipTrack.com. Kids 12 & under are FREE to three of the five Championships.

“Homestead-Miami Speedway is as unique a Championship venue as you’ll find anywhere in sports,” said track president Matt Becherer. “Consider that all of the other major-league sports—the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and the NCAA’s Final Four and BCS—rotate their Championships venues each year. Yet, this fall Homestead-Miami Speedway will host NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend for a ninth consecutive year—in the process delivering a robust economic impact felt by businesses, restaurants and retailers throughout the South Florida region.”

Yacaman completes first triathlonFirestone Indy Lights racer Gustavo Yacaman didn't want to stop competing on a weekend away from racing. So the 19-year-old Colombian entered his first triathlon on June 26 at Morse Reservoir near Indianapolis.

"Racing is a very physical sport, very physical indeed," Yacaman said. "To be in shape, I always look for alternative ways. I don't just stick to the gym and lift weights. I really like to run and ride both mountain and road bike. Lately I have started to pick up swimming. So then I thought why not mix it all up and do a triathlon?"

Avis a new sponsor for IndyCarUPDATE It is now official. The IRL announced today that AVIS has formed a multi-year partnership with the Indy Racing League to be the official rental car company of the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights.

AVIS, which for 11 consecutive years has been named the leading rental car company in customer loyalty, will take an active role in promoting both series through e-mail campaigns, displays at select airport locations and other large-scale promotions. It also will offer a national sweepstakes program, which will provide a unique VIP experience to fans during an IZOD IndyCar Series race weekend.

Roundtrip shuttle service to be offered for Brickyard 400 fansThe Town of Speedway is facilitating roundtrip bus service for 2010 Brickyard 400 fans on Race Day, Sunday, July 25 at four convenient locations, including three in downtown Indianapolis and one at Indianapolis International Airport.

Service in air-conditioned shuttles will be provided by the Free Enterprise System, Inc. Tickets are $22 per person for one-way or round-trip service.

Ganassi Grand-Am team hit with penaltyGRAND-AM Road Racing today assessed penalties on the No. 01 team that competes in the Daytona Prototype class, as a result of a rule violation during the June 19 Rolex Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

During post-race inspection, the team was found to be in violation of Daytona Prototype Regulations 4-1.1 Engine Eligibility (components and performance levels that must be strictly adhered to).

As a result, the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team was penalized 25 team points; drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas were penalized 25 driver points; and BMW was penalized 25 manufacturer points.

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey says there will be no major upgrades for the team at the British Grand Prix.

Rival McLaren is planning to introduce its own version of Red Bull's successful exhaust-blown diffuser at Silverstone but Newey insisted his team will only bring minor changes.

"We won't have any large changes for the car at Silverstone, mainly small evolutionary changes to the front and rear wings," said Newey. "We did make some revisions for Valencia with a new diffuser and updated F-duct which all worked well, the team worked incredibly hard and Sebastian drove a great race."

BMW’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans delivered mixed results, but the Bavarian automaker has taken some of the lessons learned from the development of its European-spec M3 GT2s to strengthen its American Le Mans Series program.

While the revised cars, which fully conform to ACO regulations, won’t be seen in the hands of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team this year, the Ohio-based team is evaluating the use of the M3’s new bodywork package that was seen on the Schnitzer-run cars in the early season Le Mans Series races and at Le Mans.

Force team wins Full Throttle hard working crew awardIt was announced today that for their difference-making performance at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Full Throttle Energy Drink saluted the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang team as one of this week’s recipients of the NHRA Full Throttle Hard-Working Crew Award. Other winners included Larry Dixon’s Al-Anabi team in Top Fuel, Greg Anderson’s Summit backed Pro Stock team and Steve Johnson’s WyoTech Suzuki team.

A week after winning his fourth Wally of the season, John Force had a lot of track to cover from his No. 16 qualifying spot at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Continuing to prove that no one should count him out this season, the 14-time champion knocked off the No. 1 qualifier, his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, as well as fellow Funny Car driver Paul Lee and John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight en route to the 208th final appearance of his legendary career.

NASCAR nails another substance abuserRichard Petty Motorsports gasman Chris Moore has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating its substance abuse policy, the sanctioning body announced in a news release Tuesday.

Moore, who fueled the No. 43 car driven by AJ Allmendinger, has been released from the organization.

“RPM fully supports NASCAR’s substance abuse policy and respects the decision to indefinitely suspend Moore,” said an RPM team statement. “He has been released from his position at RPM, effective immediately.”

Nemechek announces HostGator as sponsorHostGator.com, a leading provider of web hosting services, will sponsor Joe Nemechek's NEMCO Motorsports entries in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

HostGator.com will also sponsor Nemechek’s Nationwide car July 9 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., July 17 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. and July 24 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

“We are honored to have HostGator.com on board and that they selected NEMCO Motorsports to see what NASCAR is all about," said Nemechek. "It’s always great to bring a new company into NASCAR. It also means a lot at NEMCO Motorsports to have an eco-friendly green sponsor”

With hot summer temperatures expected this weekend, six-time Daytona International Speedway winner Jeff Gordon plans to enjoy the "slip 'n slide" during Saturday night's 400-miler. Earlier this year during the Daytona 500, the pavement began breaking up in turn 2 on the 2.5-mile track. While a 'quick fix' allowed the race to run its scheduled distance (and beyond), the track will be repaved after this weekend giving the driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet one last opportunity to race on a surface he might just consider the best. "That old pavement - how it wears, what it does to the tires, how the cars drive on it and how you have to drive it as a driver - is the best," said Gordon, who holds the record for most all-time restrictor plate victories with 12. "We're going to miss that old pavement. "Other than the problem with it coming up like it did during the '500,' that's what you want everywhere you race.

McLaren looks to keep up with Red Bull in Britain(GMM) Red Bull might now be expected to maintain its return to form as formula one moves on to Silverstone.

After two McLaren victories on the trot, and the British team leading both the drivers' and constructors' world championships, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won from pole position last weekend at Valencia.

It was a circuit with long straights and many slow corners that had been expected to favor McLaren, but Red Bull got its F-duct up and running in Spain.

And although with a revised layout for 2010, the continuing fast nature of Silverstone is expected to bring out the best of the RB6, whose predecessor was driven to dominant victory from pole position by Vettel a year ago.

It was the third win of the season for the No. 24 crew, which moved into sole possession of first place in the Tissot season standings. The pit crews for Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth are tied for second with two wins each.

Gordon’s No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on pit road – 172.661 seconds – during the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The quick work helped Gordon to a fourth-place finish.

Coming in second was Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (176.258) and finishing third was Joey Logano’s No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet (177.679).

Information shows no Whiting manipulation - Hughes(GMM) Information has emerged that counters Fernando Alonso's claim that the FIA manipulated the European grand prix.

Ferrari and the Spaniard implied that the governing body unfairly favored Lewis Hamilton by imposing only a drive-through penalty when he overtook the safety car.

The leniency of his penalty aside, complaints were also made about the time it took to be imposed; Alonso claimed the decision was made "when it could no longer have any real influence on his finishing position".

The Cosworth powered Williams Formula One team had a much stronger weekend in Valencia Spain when both drivers qualified in the top ten, and after both ran most of the race in the top ten, Rubens Barrichello crossed the line just one step away from the podium in fourth place.

Here the team’s technical director, Sam Michael, reviews the weekend and gives a brief glimpse at their home event, that will take place at the newly redeveloped Silverstone circuit in two weeks time.....The team took an impressive step forward in Valencia. Both FW32s got into Q3 and Rubens finished the race in fourth place. To what do you attribute the improved pace of the FW32?The improved performance of FW32 was due to the whole car package, and perhaps the specific nature of the Valencia circuit that suited our car characteristics. While we are heading in the right good direction, we and our partners still have plenty more work to do.

Driver dies in sanctioned race on NV mountainA Las Vegas race car driver was killed when his Porsche slid off a curvy, mountain highway that had been closed to traffic for a sanctioned against-the-clock race.

Alexander Djordjevic, 37, died Saturday afternoon while competing in the Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge near the historic mining town of Virginia City, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen said Monday.

Djordjevic was wearing a seat belt and helmet. But Allen said his silver 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo was traveling at an "extremely high rate of speed" before it rolled down the embankment off state Highway 341, known as Geiger Grade, which connects Reno to Virginia City, around 4:50 p.m.

After winning the MotoGP championship for the Repsol Honda team, Nicky Hayden has been overshadowed by all his teammates. Is the fire back?

Former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden’s search for a first podium of 2010 continues after the American finished the TIM TT Assen seventh, a frustrating result for the Ducati Team rider who is now keen to push harder at the next round in Catalunya.

Hayden, from the USA, qualified in fifth place for the race and had a good start, but encountered some traffic at Turn 1 as he was held up. Managing to pass Colin Edwards and Marco Simoncelli, Hayden had already lost contact with the leading packs and was unable to push fir higher than seventh.

“Seventh place isn't exactly the best but as always I'm trying to look at the positives: after making a good start on Thursday we had a difficult session on Friday morning with a breakdown and a crash, when we also wrecked a set of tires, and that obviously made things hard for us. Whilst the rest made progress with their set-up we lost ground,” said Hayden.

A Message from Bill Simpson"I have read the recent press release released by SFI Foundation (June 21, 2010) and found it full of legal jargon and missing a few major points I'd like the racing community to know. In siding with Impact in our preliminary injunction against SFI's intended cancelling of our contract with them last week, the court considered many facts that haven't been officially released at this point. SFI continues to reference incidents that occurred in the years of 2007 and 2008. This is a period when I was personally not involved with day-to-day operations of the company and had left many matters to my management team at the time. Upon the recent issues we've had with SFI over the past year and my returning to the business full-time again because of such, we've investigated these issues and found that there were significant problems caused by that management team (which has since been fired) that have obviously jeopardized Impact greatly and caused confusion and headaches for all of our valued customers and the motorsports world. We've presented evidence of this to the court in this latest hearing and are conducting even further investigation into the matter and will hopefully someday be able to let the motorsports community know the entire story behind this mess. Since I have been back and am involved 100% with the company again (since January of 2009) I can attest we are making the highest-quality safety equipment and that we are following all certification standards by all of the certifying bodies we work with. I am actively involved with my new management team here at both our headquarters and our production facility and can confidently say that what we are producing exceeds most standards. The judge in our recent case in the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, concurred with Impact that SFI could not cancel our contract at this time pending SFI providing Impact with a fair hearing." Impact Racing PR

(GMM) Lewis Hamilton should have been disqualified from Sunday's European grand prix. That is the claim of disgraced former Renault boss Flavio Briatore, who after re-appearing in the Monaco paddock last month, was seen on the grid prior to the Valencia street race.

Although conspiring to fix the 2008 Singapore grand prix by asking Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately, Briatore agrees with Ferrari and Fernando Alonso that Hamilton's drive-through penalty for overtaking the safety car was too mild.

"The rules aren't precise," he is quoted as telling Italy's Sky Sport 24.

Villadelprat urges Alonso to cool his anger(GMM) Joan Villadelprat has warned Fernando Alonso to put a lid on his overt criticisms of F1's governing body. Spaniard Villadelprat, bidding to bring his Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi onto the F1 grid next year, was referring to Alonso's accusation that a mild penalty for Lewis Hamilton in Valencia last week amounted to FIA manipulation.

In his column for the El Pais newspaper, he said countryman Alonso might be excused for mouthing off in the immediate aftermath of the race, but should now quieten his attack or risk official sanctions.

"I think Alonso was heated and just out of the car," he said. "I can understand their anger because Ferrari thought this race was a turning point in their championship.

War of words as Hamilton accuses Alonso of 'sour grapes'(GMM) A new war of words is threatening to break out between former sparring partners Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Alonso was furious after Sunday's European grand prix, when Hamilton overtook the safety car but still managed to finish second after serving a drive-through penalty.

"Even a child knows you cannot overtake the safety car, especially after an accident as serious as Webber's," the Spaniard fumed, according to the El Pais newspaper.

His 2007 McLaren teammate Hamilton, however, accused Alonso of "sour grapes", suggesting his bad mood was made worse by being overtaken by the Sauber of Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi.

"It's just sour grapes," Briton Hamilton is quoted by the Sun newspaper.

Tesla boosts offeringThe electric car maker, based in Palo Alto, says its IPO will be 13.3 million shares, instead of the planned 11.1 million. That would suggest a stronger-than-expected interest in the company, even though it could be a decade or more before electric car technology gains a foothold in the market. Company lost about $55 million last year. For now, it seems like a vanity stock. From the WSJ:

"They're trying to sell this as a tech company, but it's still a car," said John Fitzgibbon, president of IPO rating firm IPOScoop.com, who has reservations about the company's financial performance but believes the IPO will perform well. "It's still a ways from a touchdown; they need to be producing a sufficient number of cars in order to generate net income."

Trading is expected to begin tomorrow. Company is looking to raise up to $185 million. LA Observed

The last time Daytona International Speedway undertook a massive summer renovation project, it did so against the advice of the icon Bill France Jr.

The plan was to tear down and replace the garages, reconstruct a portion of the infield into a Fan Zone, dig a huge tunnel under the first turn and perform other work. It called for the project to be done during hurricane season and France was adamantly opposed. But for the first time, the board of International Speedway Corp. overruled the founding family scion and the work began.

It turns out 2004 was the year three hurricanes raked East Central Florida, seriously impacting the project with 3 million gallons of water filling the tunnel, among other things. But the project was completed on time, although with plenty of angst.

Tesla IPO a 'High-Speed Crash'?What’s to love about Tesla Motors? It’s a good story, but…how many times have we heard good stories from Wall Street on IPOs of companies that have ended up in the junkyard?

Answer: Way too many to count.

I have no idea if Tesla will join the rusting hulks, but this much we know:

- The story is a good one — a battery-operated sports cars.

- It’s so good the number of shares being offered have been increased.

Honda offers big GrandAm contingenct awardsThe impressive number of auto manufacturers to partner with GRAND-AM Road Racing in 2010 continues to grow, as the sanctioning body added another blue-chip partner with the announcement today that American Honda through its racing arm, Honda Performance Development, has signed on as the newest "Official Promotional Partner of GRAND-AM."

Under its contingency program, Honda will offer a $10,000 prize to its Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner (ST) class race winners, as well as $5,000 for second place, $3,500 for third, $2,500 for fourth, $1,500 for fifth and $1,000 for a finish of sixth through 10th. As an Official Promotional Partner, Honda earns the right to use GRAND-AM marks, logos, images and video throughout the 2010 season, and will also be eligible for additional joint marketing efforts through the remainder of the season.

Speedway Opens for City of Homestead's July 4th FireworksFor the first time ever, THE Championship Track will serve as host to the City of Homestead’s annual 4th of July celebration. The “Race to the Fourth” runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. this Sunday, July 4, in the Homestead-Miami Speedway infield. The event will feature family entertainment to include: live music, children’s activities, food and drinks, games and a classic Independence Day fireworks display. In addition, tickets to see the 2010 IndyCar and NASCAR Champions crowned this fall at Homestead-Miami Speedway—on sale for the first time THIS Saturday, July 3—will be available for purchase.

Teen speeders terrorize the roadsYoung people admit to shocking levels of speeding, frequently with their friends in the car with them, finds research published today (30 June 2010) by charity Brake and FedEx Express.The survey of 2,800 British youngsters by the road safety charity and courier service, carried out as part of their 2young2die campaign, found:

• More than half (56%) have been a passenger in a car driven by a young driver at more than 40 mph in a 30 mph limit or at more than 70 mph on a rural road. • 1 in 5 (23%) have raced on a public road as a driver or passenger. • 1 in 10 (10%) have overtaken another vehicle, at speed, without being able to see what is coming.

Win a trip to Indy SonomaSweeterAlternative.com today announced a contest that will send one winner and a guest on a three night, four day getaway to California's world famous wine country for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (August 20-22nd, 2010). SweeterAlternative.com will cover airfare, hotel, and VIP seating at the race – as well as a guided tour through one of the state's most scenic regions and an organized wine tasting. For a chance to win, log on to

Sugarcane ethanol fuels nearly all of the IZOD IndyCar races in the United States. "The contest will raise awareness about the benefits of sugarcane ethanol, a clean renewable fuel that could help Americans save money at the pump and cut dependence on Middle East oil," said Joel Velasco, Chief Representative of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA). "Unfortunately, the fuel is practically unavailable in the U.S. due to a 54-cent per gallon tariff which is set to expire at the end of this year. We hope this sweet deal will broaden awareness about the benefits of sugarcane ethanol and motivate Americans to demand greater choice at the pump," he added.

Tony Stewart and Office Depot donating backpacks to needy kidsStewart is partnering with Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation for a special “Back To School Celebration” to donate backpacks containing essential school supplies to Chicagoland area children in need.

During the event, Stewart will assist the Foundation in donating 4,200 backpacks to representatives from local organizations as part of the Office Depot Foundation’s National Backpack Program. The Foundation donates backpacks across the United States and Canada in an effort to help kids succeed in school. This year, the Office Depot Foundation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its National Backpack Program. Since the program began in 2001, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation have donated approximately 2.3 million backpacks to children in need. In 2010, Stewart will assist the Foundation in donating 300,000 backpacks nationwide.

The SMR team has grabbed open-wheel stand-out Stevan McAleer for their #14 Race House entry, owned by Tad Uzzle, for both the Watkins Glen and Lime Rock events. McAleer, from Scotland, brings a host of open-wheel experience to the table and will partner with rookie Tim Paul. Paul is in his first season of F2000 competition, moving over with his SMR team from the sprint car ranks, meanwhile, McAleer has a long resume of open-wheel and karting experience, including both Formula BMW and Skip Barber.

McAleer, who had the opportunity to test the #14 entry two weeks ago at Lime Rock, said: “It was my first time in the car and it went very well The main goal, however, is to focus on Tim (Paul) and stick by him to help him develop. Even though I’m in the second car, the main priority is to get Tim to the front and develop SMR into one of the top F2000 Championship Series teams.”

This week in Ford RacingThe countdown towards the debut of Mustang in NASCAR is in the final days, so Ford Racing took the opportunity to get some final advance comments from drivers Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Carl Edwards before the car hits the track on Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

One of the most memorable moments in Ford Racing history occurred in 1965 when the manufacturer asked the Wood Brothers to take their innovative approach toward pit stops from NASCAR to open wheel racing for the Indianapolis 500. The Wood Brothers didn’t disappoint as their lightning-quick stops helped propel Scottish driver Jimmy Clark to victory.

Bobby Labonte launches iPhone appLike AutoRacing1.com recognized and implemented this year (Completely free to our regular subscribers), Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, has officially launched the first NASCAR driver Smartphone app. Labonte teamed up with XCO SportsLink to provide motorsports fans the opportunity to get the latest news about Labonte on their mobile device. The app is now available for download for all iPhone, iTouch and iPad users on iTunes in the App Store for 99 cents. The app will be available for Blackberry users soon.

This new app will allow fans to get the most up to date information on Labonte and give fans an inside look at his other interests including Bobby Labonte Racing, the Bobby Labonte Foundation and his marketing firm, Breaking Limits. The application was developed by XCO SportsLink and will allow Labonte fans to track their favorite driver with never before utilized technology.

Lewis Hamilton suspects that former team-mate Fernando Alonso’s comments during the European Grand Prix were an over-dramatic emotional reaction to on-track events in Valencia. Following the race, Ferrari expressed their fury over the Englishman’s actions as well as heavily criticizing the FIA’s race stewards. Video evidence confirms that Hamilton did overtake the Safety Car after passing the line which marks the official end of the pit lane; for this the McLaren driver was handed a drive-through penalty although Ferrari – the only team to have seen its car have to circulate behind the Safety Car for a full lap, without choice – claimed that the Englishman’s penalty was handed out at a meaningless part of the race.

“That is good to know,” Hamilton responded when told about Alonso’s comments, broadcast to television viewers via team radio feed. “Well, it is all down to the point that you do the job that you have to do.

Racing this week on ESPNThe NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, July 2, and ESPN will have a live telecast of the Subway Jalapeno 250. The race will mark the debut of NASCAR’s new car for the Nationwide Series and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete driving a No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet similar to cars his famous father raced in NASCAR in the 1980s.

NASCAR Countdown presented by Wrangler airs at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the race telecast starts at 8 p.m. with the green flag at 8:19 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with selected races airing on ESPN and ABC. Also from Daytona, ESPN2 will televise NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice on Thursday, July 1, at 5:30 p.m. and qualifying on Friday at 1 p.m.

No FIA action after Ferrari rage(GMM) F1's governing body is not expected to take action against Fernando Alonso or Ferrari. The Italian team's response to the outcome of the Valencia race has been incandescent, including Fernando Alonso saying Lewis Hamilton's meager treatment by the stewards amounted to "manipulation".

Ferrari vice-president Piero Ferrari said the mere drive-through penalty for McLaren driver Hamilton's overtaking of the safety car made the European GP a "false race".

And reports on the team's official website have quoted fans as saying Hamilton is a liar and a cheat, McLaren "thieves", and the FIA a "Federation of clowns".

Ferrari steps up rage against 'McLaren thieves'(GMM) Ferrari's rage against the outcome of the European grand prix went from bad to worse on Monday.

With Fernando Alonso having accused the stewards of manipulating the Valencia race, the Italian team echoed the apparent view of some fans that Lewis Hamilton's drive-through penalty for overtaking the safety car was a "scandal".

But in another website report on Monday, Ferrari stepped up its attack, repeating the view of one fan that had hit out at "McLaren thieves" who were "up to their usual dirty tricks".

Another fan said: "The FIA at Valencia showed it's not entirely in charge of the events that it's organizing", and yet another added: "Is this the latest version of Jean Todt? Those who order and manipulate are always the same."

Video: 1993 CART New Hampshire race highlightsHere is a 20-minute highlight reel of the 1993 CART New Hampshire race. Note the large number of fans in attendance and the exciting race. The TV rating on ESPN was a 2.4! Tell us one more time Tony George what was wrong with CART and why the IRL had to be created, which split the sport and has all but destroyed open wheel racing? Hopefully it can be salvaged.

The incident in question for the Sauber driver was recorded at 1:37pm local time, 23 minutes before the start of the race, as Kobayashi – who went on to finish seventh and pick up six World Championship points – was caught speeding on the reconnaissance lap from the pit lane to the grid.

Having breached article 30.12 of the sporting code, driving at 71.9km/h (44.7mph) in a 60km/h (37.3mph) zone, Kobayashi is fined €2,400 (just under £2,000).

NJ race indicative of challenge open wheel racing faces in the USAFrom 1979 until 1995 CART built open wheel racing in America into a big sport, and that included a number of successful support series. Sponsorship revenue was double NASCAR and TV ratings were better than NASCAR. In 1995 the IRL was born and it split open wheel racing in half. As we predicted back then, that was the beginning of the end of open wheel racing in America. Since then America has become a stock car country, even though open wheel racing has been around twice as long. The split in open wheel racing destroyed the sport and sent the fans packing. The following article is indicative of fan apathy with open wheel racing in this country today.

One of the nation's top open-wheel racing series was at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday, but few people came to see it. A sparse crowd that appeared to be only in the hundreds watched Tristan Vautier win the Star Mazda Championship's seventh race of the season and second in as many days at NJMP.

IndyCar hits the track in New HampshireUPDATE The crowd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for yesterday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup race were treated to a glimpse of what the future holds for the 1.058-mile oval when two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti whipped the fans into a frenzy with three hot laps in his sleek red No. 10 Indy car, fielded by Target Ganassi Racing.

Dario Franchitti does some laps around New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday

CIA Stock Photo

Franchitti zipped around the track in 26.6 seconds — more than two seconds faster than the pole-winning lap Juan Pablo Montoya did in his stock car at NHMS — “without even trying,’’ said one IndyCar Series official.

It was a glimpse into what track officials dubbed “a new breed of speed,’’ after announcing yesterday that NHMS would add an IndyCar Series date July 31, 2011 that will be sandwiched between its lucrative Sprint Cup dates in June and September. It marks a return of open-wheel racing to NHMS after a 12-year absence.

(GMM) Mark Webber awoke on Monday morning determined to return to the cockpit of his Red Bull at Silverstone next weekend.

The Australian on Sunday survived one of the most frightening crashes seen in recent times, when his RB6 struck the rear of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus before backflipping and wiping out an advertising hoarding.

Webber, 33, then careered into a tire barrier but emerged from the cockpit relatively unscathed.

After a visit to the medical centre and a shower, he told reporters at the circuit that he is sporting a few bumps and bruises.

(GMM) Stefano Domenicali has moved to temper Ferrari's Latin outbursts in the wake of the European grand prix. After the Valencia race, Fernando Alonso accused FIA stewards of "manipulating" the outcome, while Ferrari's official website called Lewis Hamilton's mild penalty for overtaking the safety car "a scandal".

Regarding the "scandal" report, team boss Domenicali said the writer was only expressing the views of the fans.

For instance, Ferrari linked the Hamilton incident with a marshal having to run onto the circuit to recover a glass bottle.

As part of its annual compliance testing program, the NHTSA recently conducted a test of the 2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 50 mph. The vehicle is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 percent overlap. As part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard.

South Florida-resident Juan Pablo Montoya captured his first pole of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season Friday at New Hampshire in looking to make up ground in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship standings. But it was not to be, as NASCAR journeyman Reed Sorenson slid into Montoya late in the race as the two were racing side-by-side in Turn 3. The contact sent the pole-sitting No. 42 hard into the wall and out of the race.

Said Montoya: “I don’t know, they told me [Sorenson] turned right. I don’t know….It is a shame because everybody is a lap down. I am running around the outside. I’m not bumping, I’m not making it tight, and he turns right before he braked. It was just one of deals where I’m not surprised; coming from Reed I wasn’t surprised, to be honest.”

Montoya also had contact on multiple occasions with Jeff Gordon, who will be seeking his fifth Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway this fall. “The guy that really messed me up was the No. 24,” Montoya added. “…It was the end of the race, and nobody gives you any room and that is what happens….He just didn’t give me any room, he never does. He has it coming one day.”

Vautier Victorious in Star MazdaFrenchman Tristan Vautier claimed his second victory of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear driving the #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais Mazda in Round 3 of the VISITFLORIDA Cup at New Jersey Raceway Park. Starting from the outside of the second row, he took the lead from pole-sitter Conor Daly's #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda on the opening lap and led all the way to the checkered. Finishing 2nd - his third podium of the season -- after starting 8th in the #18 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda was Brazilian Joao Victory Horto. Rounding out the top-3 was Norwegian racer Anders 'The Viking' Krohn, scoring his third podium of the season in the #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda. Krohn was holding tight to second place until the final lap when his gearbox stuck in 6th and Horto was able to pass.

USF2000 Sunday Race Report from NJMPPatrick McKenna capitalized on polesitter Sage Karam's mistake and posted his second victory of the season in the "Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda" Sunday afternoon on the Thunderbolt Raceway course at New JerseyMotorsportsPark. The 20-lap/30-minute race was the second half of a USF2000 doubleheader that was part of the Mazda Motorsports Festival presented by VisitFlorida.com. The latter company made the event's live coverage on HDNet possible.

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